Egg Hunt-Newbie

[RebeccaC]

Here are my attempts with my 2 year old on an Easter egg hunt. I can tell I'm getting better and that maybe my camera is not a lemon as I originaly suspected. My main problem is focusing and I'm starting to get really frustrated with it.

I like to use the AV until I get tired of never getting any good shots then I switch to an automatic mode. I'm weak, I know. These were shot at an f/9 and ISO 400. Any help is appreciated.

[steveathome]

Lovely little fella.

I find outdoor shots hard in harsh sunlight. If you have one, always use a lens hood, this will cut down the likelihood of flare across the lens.

Where is your point of focus? Normally focus on the nearest eye to you.

[Skonk]

Handsome fella.

The second shot looks like it's had a lot (too much) sharpening applied in post.

What shutter speed were they taken at?

If you're using AV mode it's posible that the camera is simply giving you too slow a shutter speed to be able to hand hold it so you're getting camera shake, rather than poor focussing.

Also assuming you're using a DSLR, have you tried setting it to center point focussing? If not then the camera may be picking a focussing point for you that's not where you actually want it.

James.

[RebeccaC]

Thanks for the help. I'm using a 40D with the 28-135 lens. Not sure what the shutter speed was though. I think I'll try using the TV mode tomorrow at our next egg hunt.
Quick question, I like to keep the focus point on the center one so do I need to have the red square on his eyes and then move the frame where I want it? Does that make sense? The manual doesn't help much in this area. Trust me, I've checked.
Thanks.

[Skonk]

If you set it to center point then yeh you can get the focus on the eyes and then move the camera to compose the shot. Depending on how much DoF you have though it's posible that when you move the camera the focus could end up being a little off, just have a go anyway and see how it turns out.

The other option is to compose the shot and then select the closest focussing point to the eyes but the outer focussing points arn't always as accurate as the center point.